Catholic News

• AI must serve the human person, Pope tells WEF (Vatican News)
  “Human dignity must never be violated for the sake of efficiency,” Pope Francis insisted, in a message to the World Economic Forum, meeting in Davos, Switzerland to discuss artificial intelligence (AI). “When used correctly,” the Pope said, “AI assists the human person in fulfilling his or her vocation, in freedom and responsibility.” AI could and should be used to advance the goals of “greater justice, more extensive fraternity, and a more human order of social relations.” That use of the new technology, he said, would be “more valuable than advances in the technical field.” On the other hand, the Pope said, AI should never be exploited at the cost of human dignity, which “must never be violated for the safe of efficiency.”
• Trump administration drops special immigration treatment for churches (CNA)
  Acting quickly to enforce its goal to end illegal immigration, the Trump administration has ended a policy that treated churches, hospitals, and schools as “sensitive locations” that should not be subject to raids by immigration agents without special approval. The policy, which had been in force since 2011, prohibited raids on places of worship, schools, and hospitals—as well as on public events such as parades—unless there was a demonstrated need for urgent action.
• Trump pardons 23 jailed pro-life activists (DailyWire)
  On the eve of the annual March for Life, President Trump has issued pardons for 23 pro-life activists who were jailed during the Biden administration. “They should not have been prosecuted,” Trump said as he signed the pardon. All of the pro-lifers covered by the presidential pardon were convicted under the Freedom of Access to Clinics (FACE) law, which has been used to impose stiff prison sentences for peaceful blockades at abortion clinics. Among those released by the presidential pardon are: Lauren Handy, who has served 57 months in prison; Joan Bell, a 76-year-old woman who has served 27 months on this conviction, and spent more than six years in prison on previous occasions; and Eva Edl, an 89-year-old survivor of a World War II concentration camp, who was awaiting sentencing.
• Some of President Trump's executive orders are 'deeply troubling,' USCCB president says (USCCB)
  Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said on January 22 that “some provisions contained in [President Donald Trump’s] executive orders, such as those focused on the treatment of immigrants and refugees, foreign aid, expansion of the death penalty, and the environment, are deeply troubling and will have negative consequences, many of which will harm the most vulnerable among us.” “Other provisions in the executive orders can be seen in a more positive light, such as recognizing the truth about each human person as male or female,” said the prelate, referring to an executive order revoking the Biden administration’s transgender policies. Archbishop Broglio added: I wish to reiterate that the Catholic Church is not aligned with any political party, and neither is the bishops’ conference. No matter who occupies the White House or holds the majority on Capitol Hill, the Church’s teachings remain unchanged ... Our prayer is one of hope that, as a Nation blessed with many gifts, our actions demonstrate a genuine care for our most vulnerable sisters and brothers, including the unborn, the poor, the elderly and infirm, and migrants and refugees. The just Judge expects nothing less.
• Pope answers letter from a separated father (Vatican News (Italian))
  Pope Francis has answered a letter from a separated father in Piazza San Pietro, a new monthly magazine published by St. Peter’s Basilica. According to Vatican News, Giorgio, the letter writer, is a separated father whose wife ran off to Athens with another man. When his eight-year-old daughter visited him, police arrested him for possession of cocaine in his car. He was freed while praying a novena to Padre Pio, and later his mother-in-law and two accomplices were convicted—presumably of planting the cocaine in the car. “We must stop the violence that uses and exploits children with arguments, blackmail and abuse that can lead to very serious family tragedies with murders and suicides,” wrote Giorgio. “Only starting from the heart will our families be able to unite different intelligences and wills, and to pacify them, so that the Spirit can guide us,” the Pope wrote in response. Giorgio’s “story is a testimony of peace that encourages in a world inflamed by wars, by hatred,” the Pope added, as he called for “increasingly adequate laws to allow boys and girls of separated parents to meet and grow emotionally and lovingly with all their family members.” The Pope also called on Christian communities to “accompany wounded families so that children never become hostages of their father and mother.”
• Ortega regime seizes Nicaragua's Matagalpa seminary (Pillar)
  The Nicaraguan regime has seized the seminary and pastoral center of the Diocese of Matagalpa. 60% of the diocese’s clergy have been exiled, according to The Pillar—including its bishop, Bishop Rolando Álvarez.
• Virginia bishop decries IVF in pastoral letter (CNA)
  In vitro fertilization (IVF) is “contrary to justice,” writes Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, in a pastoral letter. While acknowledging the “natural desire for family,” and observing that “an extraordinary number of couples” today seem unable to have children, Bishop Burbidge argues that IVF “subverts human dignity by reducing human persons—man, woman, and child alike—into objects of a technical process.” The bishop reminded his people that the process of IVF involves the creation of many human embryos, most of which will be discarded. Thus he writes: For every one of the more than 12 million children born by means of IVF since 1978, there are many tens of millions more missing brothers and sisters who have been either deliberately destroyed, experimented upon, or frozen in liquid nitrogen and denied their natural right to the fullness of their development. Bishop Burbidge encourages to explore morally licit means of addressing fertility problems, and applauds those who, unable to conceive children, bear “heroic witness” by rejecting immoral means.
• In visit to France and Norway, Cardinal Parolin discusses defense of human life, peace (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
  Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Pope’s Secretary of State, has concluded a four-day visit to France and Norway. In France, Cardinal Parolin met with Prime Minister François Bayrou, Bruno Retailleau (the interior minister), and other government officials. In a speech commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Poincaré-Ceretti agreement, which granted legal recognition to the Church in France, Cardinal Parolin spoke of “an evolving and dynamic secularism, capable of adapting to different contexts and promoting continuous cooperation between civil and religious authorities,” according to the Vatican newspaper. Cardinal Parolin “also did not fail to reiterate that respect and protection of life, from conception to natural end, remain fundamental values,” the newspaper added. In Norway, Cardinal Parolin visited with the nation’s king and later met with Espen Barth Eide, the nation’s minister of foreign affairs. “The focus of the meeting was the theme of peace, with special mention of the war in Ukraine and the truce in Gaza, and the importance of mediation for the prevention and resolution of conflicts.,” the Vatican newspaper reported. Before returning to Rome, Cardinal Parolin ordained Father Frederik Hansen, 45, as the coadjutor bishop of Oslo, the nation’s capital.
• Diplomatic immunity shields Vatican investigator from complaint in Peru (Crux)
  A Peruvian prosecutor is prepared to drop a criminal complaint filed by two private citizens against a Vatican official, noting that the official enjoyed diplomatic immunity. Two citizens had charged that Msgr. Jordi Bertomeu had violated a professional secret by disclosing information that they had given to him in confidence. Msgr. Bertomeu had been acting as a Vatican investigator, probing the controversial movement, the Sodality of Christian LIfe, which has now been suppressed. The Peruvian prosecutor, after a preliminary study of the complaint, observed that Msgr. Bertomeu had been acting as “part of the special Vatican mission,” and in fact his interviews with the two complainants had been conducted inside the Vatican nunciature.
• Chinese bishop transferred to new diocese (CNA)
  Bishop Joseph Cai Bingru has been transferred from the Diocese of Xiamen, to the Diocese of Fuzhou, with the approval of both the Vatican and the Chinese government. The transfer was made under the provisions of the secret Vatican accord with Beijing governing the appointment of bishops. Bishop Cai had served in Xiamen since 2010, when he was installed with approval of both the Vatican and Beijing.
• Pope endorses auto-safety education, environmental concern (Vatican Press Office)
  Pope Francis met on January 22 with representatives of Italian auto clubs, and told them: “There is a need for road safety, starting from the schools.” The Pope praised the group for promoting education of student drivers, and went on to say that this education should include information about the environmental impact of cars, which “have an undeniable impact on the common home and on those who inhabit it.”
• Senate Democrats block advance of Born-Alive Protection bill (Washington Times)
  In a party-line vote, the US Senate failed to advance a bill that would have required medical care for any baby born alive after an attempted abortion. Every Democratic senator voted against ending a filibuster that has blocked consideration of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. The vote to end debate was 52 to 47, falling short of the 60 votes needed to end the filibuster.
• 'We do not pray to win the war, but to obtain peace,' DR Congo bishops' spokesman says (Fides)
  The justice minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has asked religious communities to join in prayer on February 9 for an army victory in conflicts in the eastern part of the nation. “The Catholic Church has no problem praying, but it does so in its own way,” responded Msgr. Donatien Nshole, the secretary general of the Congolese National Episcopal Conference (CENCO). “We do not pray to win the war, but to obtain peace.” The comment comes less than a month after Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo of Kinshasa, the nation’s leading prelate, strongly criticized the government in his Christmas message. The Central African nation of 115.4 million (map) is 95% Christian (51% Catholic), with 2% adhering to ethnic religions. Pope Francis made an apostolic journey there in 2023.
• Amid prospect of mass deportations, remember love of neighbor, Oklahoma archbishop says (Archbishop Paul Coakley)
  Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City reflected on deportations in a January 22 statement. “Pope Benedict XVI once famously reminded us that Jesus’ parents, Joseph and Mary, fled their own country in order to save the life of their child,” he said. “As Christians, we must reflect on this again as the conversation concerning ‘mass deportation’ takes hold, creating fear and even distress for our immigrant, migrant and refugee neighbors who have arrived in search of the same dreams that awaited many of our ancestors at a different moment in time,” After quoting from US bishops’ statements on immigration, Archbishop Coakley said that “the majority of undocumented immigrants in Oklahoma are upstanding members of our communities and churches, not violent criminals ... They are our friends and neighbors. They happen to be some of the most vulnerable in our midst.” He added: As our nation struggles to address serious and complicated issues surrounding immigration, the Church must be a leader in embracing diverse newcomers and providing assistance and pastoral care to immigrants, migrants, refugees and people on the move ... Jesus Christ continues to call us to the second great commandment, the importance of loving our neighbor as thyself. Such love is of serious consequence, for these neighbors and for ourselves.
• Pope thanks Public Safety officials for dedication to service (Vatican Press Office)
  Meeting on January 22 with members of the Vatican’s Public Security Inspectorate, Pope Francis encouraged them to take advantage of the Jubilee Year, while thanking them for their help. “I invite you to take advantage of the Holy Door,” the Pope said, reminding the security officials that a Holy Door is open in each of the Vatican basilicas. He thanked them for their “dedication, professionalism, and generosity,” which help to “guarantee my safety and that of my collaborators and all the pilgrims and tourists in the Vatican area.”
• Vietnam arrests Protestant pastor for 'anti-state propaganda' (Radio Free Asia)
  Vietnam’s Communist regime has arrested a 71-year-old Mennonite pastor on charges of “anti-state propaganda.” Nguyen Manh Hung, who testified before the US House of Representatives’ Human Rights Subcommittee in 2015, has been “vocal on Facebook, where he condemned Vietnam’s government over human rights violations, corruption, and the confiscation of land from residents without fair compensation,” Radio Free Asia reported. “He also voiced strong support for political dissidents and prisoners of conscience.” The Southeast Asian nation of 105.8 million (map) is 48% Buddhist and 10% Christian, with 12% adhering to ethnic religions.
• Catholic education system in Mali endangered by government funding cuts (Aid to the Church in Need)
  The government of Mali, which funds 80% of the salary of teachers at Catholic schools, is poised to end its subsidy, which dates from 1972. “Since 2012, Mali has found itself in a sociopolitical and security crisis,” a Catholic source in Mali told Aid to the Church in Need. “The Catholic Church is trying at all levels, above all in education, to make its contribution towards the restoration of peace, reconciliation, and coexistence. In fact, 80% of the children in our schools are Muslims.” The West African nation of 22 million (map) is 88% Muslim and 4% Christian, with 8% adhering to ethnic religions. The Mali War began in 2012; it pits Mali’s government against various Islamist groups.
• First Bibles published in Malaysian language (Fides)
  An ecumenical team on the Malaysian state of Sarawak has announced the publication of two new Bibles in the Bahasa Malaysia language. Published by the Malaysian Bible Society in collaboration with the Association of Churches in Sarawak, the two editions use different approaches to translation: one (the Alkitab Kudus Malaysia) adhering as closely as possible to the original words of the Scriptures, the other (Alkitab Berita Baik Edisi Studi) using the “dynamic equivalence” method in a bid to make the Bible more accessible.
• God honors Mary's human freedom, Pope tells audience (Vatican News)
  At his weekly audience on January 22, Pope Francis spoke about the Annunciation, noting that the Virgin Mary accepted her role as mother of the Messiah. “God wants to nurture Mary with His Spirit, a power capable of opening what is closed without violating it, without encroaching on human freedom,” the Pope said. He observed that Mary, inspired by the Holy Spirit, had no fear about her destiny, because “the presence of the Lord always gives us the grace of not fearing.” The Pontiff also told his audience that the phrase translated as “full of grace” is “a loving name unknown in biblical history.”
• Episcopal bishop confronts Trump on immigrants, transgender children (NPR)
  Episcopalian Bishop Mariann Budde of Washington directly challenged the newly inaugurated President Donald Trump during a prayer service at the National Cathedral on January 21. With Trump sitting in the front pew, the bishop spoke directly to him, saying: “In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.” She cited the fears of immigrants and of “gay, lesbian, and transgender children... some who fear for their lives.” President Trump later criticized Bishop Budde’s challenge, saying that she “brought her church into the world of politics in a very ungracious way.” He complained that the prayer service had been “very boring and uninspiring.”
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